1927 Modified Ford Lakester - The Mutt Special

What do you get when you mix a little bit of dirt in with a little bit of salt?

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For 56-year-old Ed Gromer, from Centerville, Ohio, you get a whole lot of fun wrapped in a wheelbase of only 96 inches.

After years of working as an engineer at GM's Moraine, Ohio, facility (where he worked on the dyno testing of vehicles), Ed knew his time with the company was coming to a close, and he began looking for a suitable project to build. Having worked on Sprint and Champ Cars back in the '80s, Ed was already clued in on what could be done with a small (and efficient) engine in a light car, but it was only when he took some time to cruise the Internet and started to check out photos of vintage salt and dirt track race cars that it finally dawned on him what his next car should be.

From the get-go Ed knew what he wanted would be his interpretation of what those cars were all about. His "want list" would soon include a track nose, block tires, a quick-change, and, if he could find one, an injected Offy motor.

3/10Looking like it would be at home on both the dirt oval as well as the dry lake, Ed Gromer's modified keeps the spirit and feeling of vintage race cars alive and well.

But you have to start somewhere and, for Ed, square one in the build was the chassis and body. Old Dog Street Rods in Maryland Heights, Missouri, offers a '27 Lakester kit, which is comprised of a 'glass '27 Ford roadster body (with two opening doors) and a pinched frame with a radical kick in the rear to accommodate suspending a quickie rear. Ed used this kit as a base to work from, and modified nearly everything on it to get the car the way he wanted it. He added 2 inches in the body at the quarters (for a little more legroom), changed over to Model A crossmembers, changed the existing pinch, Z'd the front 5 inches, and added more kick in the rear (for a total of 12 inches).

The list of parts used on the front and rear suspension includes most of the "usual suspects" for a build of this type: a drilled Super Bell 5-inch-drop I-beam axle and spindles, and a Posies reverse-eye spring. The hairpins, both front and rear, were made by Chris Staneck and the owner. (With a smile, Ed says he looks up to Staneck like an older brother-a much older brother). Out back a '27 Ford reverse-eye spring works with a set of Speedway Motors friction shocks and Panhard bar, which all pivots off a rearend featuring a Rodsville aluminum quick-change (4.11:1) and 11-inch drum brakes. Up front '40 Ford brakes were used and the backing plates drilled out. Ford wire wheels, 16-inchers on each corner, are wrapped in Coker rubber: 5.00 up front and 8.90 in the rear.

The powertrain in Ed's car initially came from a Ford Ranger. He turned the 2.3L engine over to Performance Clinic Company in Beavercreek, Ohio, along with a bunch of performance parts from Esslinger Engineering in El Monte, California. Esslinger, which has been around for 30 years, specializes in 2.0 and 2.3L Ford SOHC engines (and making them go really fast!). The inline was assembled by Performance Clinic Company using stock rods and pistons and an Esslinger cam (PN 2267). An Esslinger head was also used (equipped with Crane valves and heavy-duty springs) and is fed by a pair of 40 DCOE Weber side-draft carbs mounted to an Esslinger manifold while exhaust exits through headers made by Staneck. Esslinger also provided the pulleys and harmonic balancer, and the aluminum radiator was custom-made at Spyke Radiator in Brownsburg, Indiana. Ed used a SPAL fan for the radiator, an MSD distributor and ignition box, plus an ACCEL wire kit. The whole shebang bolts to the Ranger's five-speed transmission, which is topped with shifter that features a shift knob from a tractor.

The engine is covered by a custom hood made by the owner, and under the car is an aluminum bellypan fabbed up at Staneck's shop. The 'glass track nose, narrowed 3 inches by Ed, came from Superior Glass Works, and is protected by a single nerf bar/guard created by Josh Shaw (the quick-change rear features a Staneck pushbar).

After the '27 Ford windshield posts were cut 2.5 inches and the bodywork done, Ed picked up some R&M Black paint from Performance Paint & Supply in Dayton, Ohio, and sprayed all the parts and body pieces himself. The interior was the next item on the build sheet, and Ed worked with Staneck in making the bomber-style bench seat. Using 0.060 hardened aluminum (some pretty stiff material), Ed says they beat the aluminum over every pole they had in the garage to get the desired shape for the seat, then hand-bucked "a bizillion rivets" to finish the look. Ed even found a Hughes Aircraft Company ID plate on eBay for $5 that made the seat look like it was war surplus.

A trio of Stewart Warner gauges was used on the simple dash, and an owner-made steering column supports a LimeWorks four-spoke steering wheel. The drilled-out look of the steering wheel is copied in the Pitman arm hanging off the side of the cowl (it connects to a modified BMW steering box behind the dash).

After Ed added the black rubber from Dynamat and some black canvas, the interior was done. With the addition of '27 Ford headlights and taillights (complemented with a '40s-era accessory rear signal lamp from the Automobile Go-Light Company), the necessary items chromed by Metal Brite in Dayton, Ohio, and the Mutt Special name lettered on the hood by Mike Smith, the little rod was done and ready for the road.

About the only item Ed hasn't gotten to is adding some World War II aircraft seatbelts, but he has been able to take the car out and it has been well received, garnering a Top 12 award at the NSRA Nats, a Top 100 award from STREET RODDER at the Goodguys Bowling Green event, plus a Super Bell award at the Shades of the Past event. What he wasn't prepared for is the wild response both his and Staneck's modified (featured on page 30) has gotten from the general public. Who knew you could pack this much fun into such a small package?